Citizens' Alliance
The 'Citizens' Alliance '(or "Alliance" for short) is a meritocratic, highly militaristic state consisting of about one million inhabited star systems. It is one of the five great powers of the Milky Way galaxy, and it is comparable in size to both Avelov and the Consortium. Astrography The Citizens Alliance controls approximately 1 million member systems located towards the galactic south, closely bordering the United Dominions of Avelov along Xeno Alley. All of these systems belong to various meritocratic states under the control or growing influence of the Alliance's central government. The capital of the Alliance is Unica Prime, and major worlds in the Alliance include Unica Secundus, Eridia, Seria, Oteron, Kopurov, and Darra. History Early History The Citizens' Alliance was formed sometime after the War of the Cog Lords and was a growing interstellar polity by the era of the Unification Wars, numbering around 10,000 systems, many of which had been annexed to join the Alliance through diplomatic coercion or conflict. However, upon encountering the ever-expanding Third Empire of Man, the Alliance rebuffed the Imperial delegates' offer of annexation, much to the surprise of the Empire--which in other words, meant war. Alliance-Imperial War The initial stages of the Alliance-Imperial War, as later historians would call it, was marked by the retreat of the Alliance Navy from its various controlled worlds, knowing the Imperial Navy had the numerical and technological advantage. As a result, the Imperials assumed that the Alliance would surrender eventually, and that the war would be won in short notice. However, what the Imperials did not count on were the countless garrisons of Alliance Marines stationed on each planet that the Imperials attempted to occupy. Imperial stormtroopers deployed to the surfaces of Alliance worlds with these garrisons were poorly equipped to fight a professional army such as that of the Alliance Marine Corps, given that the Imperial Army, for the most part, was used to dealing with rebellious peasants rather than skilled (and fanatical) soldiers. Nevertheless, the Empire believed that their numerical superiority coupled with their advanced navy would win the war, eventually. Despite suffering heavy losses, and the surface bombardment of multiple fortress worlds, the Alliance brass refused to surrender to the Empire and its emperor, Marev V. As the war bogged down, the Alliance, while cornered to an extent, managed to continuously raise more troops; much of this owed to the hyper-patriotic martial culture promoted by Alliance society, which allowed the Alliance to easily conscript and train large segments of its populace with relative ease. Time and time again, the Empire often lost the ground war on many of the worlds it had attempted to occupy due to the rigor, tenacity and militant fanaticism of the Alliance Marine Corps. And time and time again, the Empire was forced to rely on the orbital bombardment capabilities of its navy, which often meant the surface destruction of many Alliance worlds originally intended to be occupied by the Empire. Realizing that if the war continued at its current, almost cyclical rate, with casualties growing by the day, Emperor Marev V decided that it would not be a worthwhile war if the Empire was forced to rule over desolate, surface-destroyed worlds. In an attempt to secure a fast victory to a war that had taken longer than expected, and had already consumed many Imperial stormtroopers, Marev V ordered a major battle fleet to head towards Unica Prime, the capital of the Alliance. Leading this fleet was the Gotha-class dreadnought Admiral Rakovsky, armed with several city-destroyer superlasers, and accompanied by two dozen Velykev-''class battlestars and fifty cruisers and destroyers. Marev V wanted to present a show of force, or "shock and awe", to press the Alliance to surrender, and the orders for Imperial Admiral Yuzho were to bombard as much Alliance cities and bases on the capital, and kill as much of their enemies as possible. However, upon jumping out of hyperspace and into the orbit of Unica Prime, the Imperial battle fleet was shocked to discover that the Alliance had already evacuated the entire populace of Unica Prime, and razed the surface with fusion warheads. The Alliance had anticipated such an attack, and to meet the Imperial fleet, they sent twenty ''Broadsword-class cruisers and a hundred smaller vessels--all containing a contingent of one of the largest forces of Alliance Immortals (a specialized soldier type trained from birth). While the Imperial mission was rendered moot, the Imperial battle fleet sought to at least gain a victory against the Alliance fleet. While the Alliance fleet was numerically superior, it could not match the overall technological supremacy and firepower of the Imperial fleet. Midway into the battle, after suffering heavy losses from Imperial superlasers, two Alliance ships managed to send drop pods containing Alliance Immortals into the Admiral Rakovsky, with at least one drop pod belonging to the Alliance Immortal squad Fireteam Maverick succeeding in penetrating the outer hull of the dreadnought. Once inside, Fireteam Maverick fought successfully through the ship, killed Admiral Yuzho, and in an act of suicidal improvisation that made them heroic martyrs throughout Alliance history in the millennia to come, threw grenades into the fusion reactor of the Admiral Rakovsky, destroyed the battlestar, forcing an Imperial retreat from the Unica system. Upon hearing of this defeat, Marev V, oddly enough, gave a mixed reaction; while he was enraged at the Admirals of the Imperial Navy for letting this defeat occur, he gained a newfound respect for the tenacity and endurance of the Citizens' Alliance. Knowing that the Alliance would never surrender, he instead offered a peace treaty to the Star Marshal and generals of the Alliance, under the terms that the Empire and Alliance would remain on amicable relations. The Alliance accepted Marev's terms, ending the war. Recent History Following the end of the Alliance-Imperial War, the Alliance expanded out of a rebuilt Unica Prime and into the region of the Milky Way known as Xeno Alley--so called due to the large presence of sapient alien life, shortmen polities, and eldritch horrors such as the Tick Swarm, the ravenous and horrifying remains of a First Empire-era bioweapon. While the Alliance has cemented itself as a major regional power in galactic politics, even gaining a seat in the Protectorate Council, its foreign relations with other powers have strained due to the Alliance's rampant expansionism and xenophobia, coupled with other pressing issues that threaten Alliance stability. As a result, the Alliance is now involved in two conflicts that have ebbed and flowed in terms of attention given from the Alliance brass: Bug Wars The movement of the eldritch abomination known as the Tick Swarm has been a slow one, as the Ticks exit Xeno Alley in the general direction of the Sol Anomaly. Standing in between the Ticks and the Anomaly is a majority of the territories and systems under Alliance control, including the Alliance's most important home systems, such as Unica Prime. Taking the brunt of the Tick Swarm invasion, the Alliance has mobilized its society in a way not seen since the last Federation-Imperial war, and as a result, they have successfully petitioned to the Protectorate declare the Alliance the official protector of mankind against the Tick Swarm. This war, while gradually taxing the Alliance's resources, has given the Alliance an excuse to rapidly expand across Xeno Alley, and to validate their xenocidal ideology of killing all encountered alien races. Colonial Wars The expansion of the Alliance across Xeno Alley has led it into direct conflict with the other major regional galactic power of the United Dominions of Avelov. In the wake of the massive power vacuums caused by the disunity of various shortman systems, the collapsing retreat of the United Galactic Federation from the alley, and the dual invasions of the Tick Swarm and the Universal Collective, the Alliance has upped their incursions into Xeno Alley. This has led to a major strain in relations with Avelov, owing to both powers attempting to become the new hegemon of Xeno Alley, and ideological differences that have become more pronounced in recent years (Avelov allowing alien species and non-human based uplifts into its territories is seen as an affront to the Alliance, while the Alliance's genocidal fervor and moderate irreligious tendencies are seen as abhorrent to Avelov). Multiple wars have been fought between the two powers as a result of these issues. Government and Politics The government of the Citizens' Alliance is a meritocratic one, in which only the people who are capable of proving their worth to the state can become citizens. To most people, this translated to serving several years or more in the military of the Alliance; people who do not or cannot serve are relegated to the class of civilians. Even within the class of civilians, the strict meritocracy of the Alliance is evident, as those that fail in certain regards (such as willful unemployment) are denied certain rights, while those that commit treason (a fairly broad definition that can include things such as tax evasion, murdering an Alliance official, or conscientious objection) are sent to penal labor camps. Citizenship can only be obtained through service, and service for most people in the Alliance is defined as work in the military. Though there is a common assumption within the Alliance that military work is combat-related, given the overall breadth of the Alliance war machine, there are many roles open towards those that do not with to engage in the brunt of combat, such as engineering, medicine, and even paperwork. However, given the high pedestal military combat has in Alliance society, it is often seen as the fastest way to obtaining citizenship, and only those with military service can run for political office. Aliens, given the overt xenophobia of the Alliance, are never granted citizenship, let alone rights. Citizens and civilians, in theory, are equal in all rights except for the right to vote and run for office (the latter two rights reserved only for citizens), but over time, this has led to the creation of a de facto caste system where established citizens (and in some cases, the families they form) are far more privileged, wealthy, and somewhat more liberated than the civilian. In practice, the Alliance is a parliamentary democracy where the executive is elected from a legislative body based on Unica, known as the Citizens' Council. Citizen votes matter, but some votes matter more than others; given the meritocratic nature of the Alliance, a citizen can obtain more than one vote by way of "exceptional service"--which for the most part, means lengthy military service, with those that are full military gaining the most number of voting privileges in the Alliance government. Naturally, this has led to the Alliance being governed by military personnel for the past 2,000 years. Economy, Trade, and Currency The Alliance operates under mixed-market economic principles, with a middle ground between a command economy and the free-market economic policies espoused by states such as the Consortium of Sovereign Systems and the Poiturans. Naturally, citizen-run companies are guaranteed less regulation and more leeway than civilian-run companies. These companies are influential within Alliance space, but due to tariffs and the autarkic nature of the Alliance in an attempt to be self-reliant, said companies have little influence in the wider galaxy. Despite the semi-deregulated nature of the Alliance economy, one monopolized industry does exist in the form of the Alliance Transport Authority, which was designed in such a way as to ensure that the Alliance remains interconnected, and that no issues arise from smuggling or piracy (which have become issues for systems further out of Unica Prime). The official currency of the Alliance is the Alliance Credit, issued by the Alliance Central Bank; while physical currency exists for centralization purposes, most credits are digital, and many other forms of currency are used in systems on the fringe of the Alliance. Culture Ideology and Disposition The Alliance, having traced its lineage to the military of the Second Empire, values merit, strength, effort, service, and above all, loyalty. The weak-willed and incapable are often ostracized from society at best, and at worst, classified as traitors and sentenced to penal labor. To the Alliance, survival is the basis for all morality, with the continued survival of the human race being of the utmost importance. The galaxy to the Alliance is a vast and hostile place--"eat or be eaten" is often an adage and mantra the people of the Alliance live by. To this end, the Alliance has seen alien life as the primary threat to the continued survival of humanity in the galaxy, and as such, has taken drastic and often xenocidal measures to deal with aliens. Yet at the same time, unlike more extremist polities such as the Duzhonev Imperium, the Alliance does not believe that humanity is inherently superior to all other life; the Alliance, true to its ideology, believes that humanity must fight to survive and secure its superiority. Thus, the Alliance sees that the diversity of humanity is key to enabling and continuing the survival of the human race. Due to this, human subspecies--whether they be architect, manager, shortman, or callfolk--are treated equally under Alliance law. Social and Religious Norms The Alliance takes a moderate stance towards sexuality and religion, differentiating them from the libertine and fanatically atheistic Federation, and the prudish, patriarchal, and fundamentalist Avelovans. Traditional gender roles are considered the norm, although homosexuality and transgenderism are seen as perfectly acceptable in Alliance society. Families in the Alliance are often monogamous and nuclear, and once an individual reaches the age of 20, they are expected to leave the home and build a family or career on their own. There is no stigma in the Alliance for not raising a family in favor of building a career, indeed, dedicating one's life solely to the military and defense of the Alliance above all things is highly regarded. The Alliance as a society is mostly secular, and irreligion remains the norm. Despite this, "radical atheism" is often seen as a dead giveaway for Federation sympathies. Some religious minorities exist; worshippers of the Pantheon of Eight, a religion that developed from the Alliance core world of Oteron, compose 20 percent of the population. Rationalists also exist within Alliance space, comprising 10 percent of the population. Religious freedom, while often respected, is not without some restrictions: worship of the Cog Lords, as in most galactic polities, is prohibited, and most groups that do so are often seen as fronts for dangerous terror cells. Military Views on War To the Alliance, war is the crucible of all civilizations and species. It is through war that humanity strives and tests itself to become better and superior. War is essential to the Alliance, and from this thinking, the Alliance is often difficult to deal with diplomatically, given their "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude. Diplomacy towards newly discovered alien species is impossible by Alliance ideological standards--in most cases, many the homeworld of a nascent alien race has had to go through an Alliance orbital bombardment. Ranks and Command Structure In theory, the Alliance's military is beholden to the bureaucracy of the Citizens' Council and the Executive War Ministry, a group of appointed councilors and military officials. However, given that the Council itself is composed primarily of military officials, the Alliance Military operates under its own oversight--and is deeply ingrained into the civilian government as well. The leader of the Alliance Military, the Star Marshal, is often also the Prime Minister of the Alliance, furthering observations about the Alliance's heavily militarized nature. Below the Star Marshal are the three main branches of the Alliance Military: the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Planetary Defense Corps. The Navy is the most powerful of the three branches, as they are tasked to control interplanetary, orbital, and transportation assets for much of the Alliance. The Marine Corps serves as the planetside fighting force of the Alliance, a position comparable to that of the Imperial Army's Stormtroopers or the Federal Redshirts, but with more rigorous physiological and psychological training. The Planetary Defense Corps serve in a municipal law enforcement capacity at most times; when needed, they will defend their home planets in the event of invasion, or maintain order in the face of civil unrest. Soldier Types and Equipment While the Navy is often regarded as the most powerful of the three Alliance Military branches, it is the Alliance Marine Corps that does most of the back-breaking dirty work that enforces and spreads Alliance power wherever they are deployed. The Military is strictly an all-volunteer force; those in the penal legions are not considered worthy to have the distinction of being an Alliance Marine. Marine training is often physiologically strenuous and psychologically breaking, to ensure that the values of the Marine Corps are hard wired into the fiber of their every being. As a result of this strict training regimen, Alliance Marines are often considered tougher and more tenacious than Imperial Stormtroopers or Federal Redshirts. Many famous military branches and divisions have been formed from the Alliance's Marine Corps, such as the Mobile Infantry, which utilizes powerful mechanized exoskeletons in battle. The Alliance is also known to utilize special super-soldiers known as Immortals that are trained and augmented from birth to be the perfect soldier. Alliance equipment can best be described as rudimentary and durable, with a focus on brute-force power more than anything. Thus, the Alliance is one of the few galactic powers to use slugthrowers and chemically-propelled projectile weapons en masse. Melee combat is also considered important for the Alliance, and to this end, dedicated melee weapons, such as combat chainsaws, have been developed for use by specialized regiments of the Marine Corps such as the Mobile Infantry. Though not as complex as Nomoki mecha, Alliance mecha are often considered to be durable and powerful in their own right. Often shaped in humanoid forms (given then Alliance culturally valuing the humanoid shape), these range from smaller assault mechs designed for close-quarters combat to massive Behemoth mechs. The Behemoths, in particular, serve to take down massive foes, such as Kerdin Kaijiru. Almost all mecha utilized by the Alliance have the ability to swap weaponry and equipment depending on what is most suitable. Despite the mass utilization of mecha, the Alliance also maintains traditional tracked battle tanks armed with kinetic weaponry. Formations, Navy and Spacecraft The Alliance military takes full advantage of orbital capabilities, and as such, is fond of tactical precision strikes with fusion warheads, and orbital personnel drops. Dropships are often used as transports; while packing enough firepower on their own, the use of dropships head-on is discouraged, as the Alliance often sees their value in their transport capabilities. While the Navy is well-funded and often said to be the most powerful branch of the Alliance Military, it lacks in firepower and numbers when compared to the Federation and Empire, and is also technologically inferior in some aspects. Alliance jump drives are limited in range and are less accurate than the FTL technology used by other powers. Alliance shielding is often weak compared to other contemporary starships, but as a result, the Alliance compensates for this with superior materials used in the hulls of their vessels. Science and Technology Alliance technology can best be described as highly durable, and this extends to both civilian and military applications of said technology. The Alliance, while generally respectful of laws regarding automation as prescribed by the Protectorate, often pushes the boundaries of computing technology; "dumb" artificial intelligences are commonly used in Alliance vessels and even in powered armor. Overall, Alliance society is more computerized than most other galactic societies, and most Alliance worlds have extensive data networks with some interstellar connectivity, fully open to civilian access. Category:Nations